Lily plant Lilium `Egypt`

ABSTRACT

A new variety of hybrid lily plant bearing large upright-facing flowers of excellent form and long persistence, both on the plant and as cut-flowers. The flowers of the new plant are particularly characterized by their pink coloration shading into a small yellow band at the midrib, their lightly ruffled margins, their large size and substance, their upright to semi-upright orientation, and the sharply ascending pedicels of the upper flowers. This combination is completely new in the Oriental hybrid divisions of lilies suited to forcing and to mass commercial cultivation. The variety is highly resistant to fusarium disease and shows tolerance of virus. The bulbs may be precooled and forced for cut-flower production. The clone is vigorous and is a good grower and propagator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

My new variety of lily plant originated as a seedling which firstflowered in 't Zand, Netherlands, in 1987. The breeding efforts had astheir objective the production of large-flowered upright andsemi-upright Oriental hybrids in bicolored combinations of pink, white,and yellow, with pigmented papillae, suited to forcing into flower outof season, heretofore unknown in the lily breeding art.

I achieved the desired objective by intercrossing selected upright andsemi-upright pink Oriental seedlings suited to forcing for year-rounduse as cut-flowers and carrying the recessive gene for a small yellowband.

The flowers of my new lily are characterized by an upright orientation,large size and broad-tepalled "bowl-shaped" form, usually thicksubstance, ruffled tepal margins, and a distinctive soft pink colorationshading into a small yellow banded midrib, with deeper magenta-rosepapillae, unique among Oriental hybrid lilies. The pedicels of the upperflowers are sharply ascending. It possesses usually strong, stout stems.In addition, the clone possesses to a high degree desirablecharacteristics of hybrid vigor. The clone is a good grower andpropagator, as observed at 't Zand, Netherlands, and at Salem, Oreg.

My new variety of lily plant has been asexually reproduced by me andunder my direction at 't Zand, Netherlands, and at Salem, Oreg.Successive generations produced by natural propagation from bulbets, bybulb scale propagation, and by tissue culturing from bulb scale explantshave demonstrated that the novel and distinctive characteristics of mynew variety are fixed and hold true under asexual propagation fromgeneration to generation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

My new variety of lily plant is illustrated in the accompanyingphotographic drawing, which shows the open bloom in full color andillustrates the flower form, the tepal arrangement, the ascendingpedicels connecting the flower to the stem, and in particular the noveland distinctive flower form with lightly ruffled tepal margins, itsupright to semi-upright orientation, and its soft pink colorationshading into a small yellow banded midrib, accented by deeper magentarose papillae on the basal half of each tepal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

The following is a detailed description of my new variety of Orientalhybrid lily, with nomenclature according to the International LilyRegister (Royal Horticultural Society of London, Second Edition, 1969),and with color designations according to the Colour Chart of The RoyalHorticultural Society, published by the Society in 1966.

The Plant

Origin: Seedling.

Seed parent: Selected unnamed Oriental hybrid seedling.

Pollen parent: Selected unnamed Oriental hybrid seedling.

Commercial classification: Hybrid Lilium clone.

Horticultural classification: Division VII-B, bowl-shaped Orientalhybrid lily, according to the Horticultural Classification of Lilies,Royal Horticultural Society of London.

Form: Single stem, erect and stately.

Height: 70 to 125 cm from bulbs 14 to 18 cm in circumference, providedtheir light levels are adequate; low light levels may cause"stretching."

Growth: Vigorous and upright.

Foliage quantity: Abundant.

Size of leaf: Unusually broad, 4 to 7 cm wide×10 to 14 cm long.

Shape of leaf: Lanceolate (pointed).

Texture: Leathery and glossy.

Color: Medium green, lighter on lower side.

Bulb size: Any size, ranging to 25 cm circumference commercially.

Bulb color: White, with flushes of pink or yellow after exposure tolight.

The Bud

Form: Obtuse, ovoid, and long.

Size: 9 to 12 cm long and 10 to 14 cm in circumference just prior toopening.

Opening: Bud opens slowly, in response to morning light; this takesabout one hour.

Color: Ivory white to soft pink (R.H.S. C.C. red 56 D to red-purple 62D), with pale green midribs.

Peduncle: Averages 4 to 6 cm, but it may elongate if light levels aretoo low or if bulbs have been improperly stored prior to forcing. Coloris medium green with very light plum overlay.

The Flower

Blooming habit: Annually in midseason; flowers once and profusely.

Size: Flowers are large-sized, averaging 15 to 20 cm in diameter,reflexing at the tips on the second day to 15 to 18 cm in diameter. Thetepals are broad: outer tepals are 2.5 to 3.25 cm wide, and the innertepals are 4.5 to 5 cm wide.

Borne: In a single racemic inflorescence producing 4 to 8 flowers from abulb 14 to 16 cm in circumference.

Shape: Form a broad bowl shape by the second day after opening, with the"bowl" 10 cm deep.

Tepalage: Typical of genus Lithium, with 6 imbricated tepals.

Tepal color: R.H.S. C.C. red 55 B-D to red-purple 65 C-D, depending upongrowing temperatures and light levels, shading into a small yellow rayof R.H.S. C.C. 6 C to 9 C, extending 4 to 8 cm from the green nectaries.The pink color is slightly affected by temperature and light levels; itdecreases with high temperatuires and low light levels.

Tepal spotting: The basal half of each tepal is spotted with magentarose pailllae of moderate size.

Tepal longevity: Tepals stay on stems about three weeks.

Pedicel length: Average 8 to 12 cm long.

Pedicel color: Medium green with very light plum overlay.

Pedicel form: Sturdy and ascending, up to 60 degrees from the horizontalin the upper flowers.

Color changes: Flowers become slightly lighter and a more lavender-tonedpink as the flowers age. Low light levels and extreme heat may cause thepink pigmentation to decrease.

Appearance: Flower is shiny.

Disease resistance: The flower and plant are resistant to disease; inparticular, they are resistant to Fusarium bulb rot and Botrytis blight.

Fragrance: Light sweet fragrance.

Lasting quality: The flower is long lasting, both on the plant and as acut-flower.

The Reproductive Organs

Stamens: Arrangement typical of genus Lilium. Six stamens with softgreen to palest pink filaments 8 to 10 cm long.

Pollen and anthers (dehisced): R.H.S. C.C. greyed red 178A to 182 A.

Pistil: One in number, 8 to 10 cm long.

Stigma: Soft greenish-white to greyed purple R.H.S. C.C. 186 C/D, largein size.

Characteristics of ovary: Characteristic of genus Lilium.

The Fruit

Fertility: The fruit bears fertile seed.

Shape: Ovoid.

Color at maturity: Soft brown, sometimes overlaid with soft plum.

My new variety of Oriental hybrid lily most nearly resembles `Joy,` butit has much larger and thicker, more bowl-shaped flowers with moreruffled tepal margins. Its flowers have a more conspicuous yellowmidrib, as well as a greater number of more deeply colored papillae. Itspedicels are more sharply ascending, and its inflorescence bears moreflowers.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinctive variety of Oriental hybrid lily plantsubstantially as herein shown and described, characterized by its highresistance to disease; its tolerance of virus; its vigorous growth andrapid natural propagation; the excellence of its flower form, size, andsubstance; its versatility both as a garden plant and as a cut-flowerproducer from pre-cooled bulbs forced under glass out of season; and inparticular by its unique upright to semi-upright flowers with sharplyascending pecidels, its lightly ruffled tepal margins, and its soft pinkcoloration shading into a yellow midrib, accented with noticeablemagenta rose papillae on the basal half of each tepal, a combinationunique among Oriental hybrid lillies suited to forcing and to masscommercial cultivation.